The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked all the telecom operators in the country to remove the pre-call COVID-19 announcements. These pre-call announcements have been playing for the users for more than two years now. The aim was to spread awareness about the coronavirus and how citizens should be safe from it. But after a period of two years, the pre-call recordings have served their purpose and are not needed anymore. Right now, all that these pre-call announcements about COVID-19 are doing is overloading the network as there are always delays whenever users make calls.
DoT Asks Telcos to Remove Pre-Call Announcements Related to the COVID-19
According to a PTI report, in an order dated March 29, DoT has asked the telecom operators for withdrawing all the COVID-19 pre-call announcements and caller tunes. The telecom department had sought permission to do so from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The health ministry gave its approval to the DoT and without any delays, the telecom department has asked the telcos to remove the pre-call announcements related to COVID-19. Critical calls being made for emergencies were being delayed due to the pre-call announcements. Thus, the DoT has decided that they are not needed anymore. People are already aware of the coronavirus and understand how they can safeguard themselves from being infected with the COVID-19 virus. This is good news for every consumer in India who uses prepaid/postpaid voice calling services from the telecom operators in the country. The government has no plans of bringing the pre-call announcements related to COVID-19 back for now. Since the order is already out, the telcos will remove the pre-call recordings but the exact date for the same is unknown. If you are still getting the announcements before the call, don’t worry, they will be removed soon.
